By Jana al-Masry | 2025-07-02

The "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) is seizing on tensions between Israel and the Islamic Republic to try to stage a comeback, launching a recruitment campaign that targets supporters in dozens of countries, terrorism experts warn.

ISIS recently called for war against all nations supporting Israel and the United States in a rambling article published in its propaganda publication al-Nabaa that has since spread across social media platforms.

The group is attempting to expand its threat beyond traditional battlegrounds while regional security forces remain focused elsewhere, said Ibn al-Walid Center for Studies and Field Research New Media Department director Mazen Zaki.

Since the start of the latest escalation between Israel and Iran, "ISIS's media machine has begun to exploit the situation by inciting against both sides," he told Al-Fassel.

"This is to open the way for finding new recruits and obtaining funds from donors around the world," he said.

ISIS deliberately avoided naming specific regional targets in favor of threatening all countries supporting Israel and the United States, said military expert Yahya Mohammed Ali, who specializes in extremist groups.

This is a strategic attempt to widen its geographic scope, he told Al-Fassel, noting that this "widens the security threat geographically and makes monitoring and tracking difficult" for security agencies.

"Yet the measures taken globally against terrorism have become very advanced," he added, noting that monitoring the group's threats and plots is "a tedious and exhausting process, but not impossible."

Exploiting regional distraction

ISIS's messaging also has targeted the credibility of the Iranian regime.

The extremist group accuses Tehran of entering the conflict with Israel only after facing direct threats to its military and nuclear infrastructure, rather than out of genuine support for the people of Gaza and the Palestinian cause.

ISIS also highlighted the Iranian regime's failure to intervene when its ally, the former Syrian regime, faced collapse or when Iran-backed militias across the Middle East came under attack, Ali said.

Current regional tensions create opportunities for terrorist resurgence, with ISIS already claiming responsibility for attacks that resulted in numerous casualties.

"The current tensions do not serve the war on terrorism at all but create gaps that terrorist groups, especially ISIS, exploit to reposition themselves," he said.

Establishing peace remains "the shortest path to combating terrorism in all its forms," he added.